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Female multiple mating and sperm storage in an arctiid moth: Utetheisa ornatrix

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Date Issued:
2003
Summary:
Utetheisa ornatrix females mate with many different males, but only one of their mates generally sires the progeny. To investigate the mechanism of this sperm precedence, the sperm contained within the spermatheca of field-caught females was counted. Captured females contained the remains of between 1 and 23 spermatophores, each received at a separate mating. The sperm number did not depend on the number of matings. These data suggests that sperm may be lost from the spermatheca, and that it may never arrive there after some matings. In addition to this investigation, a study on the pattern of arrangement within the spermatheca of Utetheisa ornatrix was conducted. Sperm in the spermatheca from multiple and single mated females was fixed and DNA-labeled, and the distribution of eupyrene sperm assessed. The eupyrene sperm distribution did not vary across the sperm mass or with the mating history of the female. Further investigation is required to analyze the distribution of the apyrene sperm tangles within the spermatheca whose function could signify a blocking mechanism against rival sperm.
Title: Female multiple mating and sperm storage in an arctiid moth: Utetheisa ornatrix.
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Name(s): Curril, Ingrid M.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
LaMunyon, Craig W., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2003
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 52 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Utetheisa ornatrix females mate with many different males, but only one of their mates generally sires the progeny. To investigate the mechanism of this sperm precedence, the sperm contained within the spermatheca of field-caught females was counted. Captured females contained the remains of between 1 and 23 spermatophores, each received at a separate mating. The sperm number did not depend on the number of matings. These data suggests that sperm may be lost from the spermatheca, and that it may never arrive there after some matings. In addition to this investigation, a study on the pattern of arrangement within the spermatheca of Utetheisa ornatrix was conducted. Sperm in the spermatheca from multiple and single mated females was fixed and DNA-labeled, and the distribution of eupyrene sperm assessed. The eupyrene sperm distribution did not vary across the sperm mass or with the mating history of the female. Further investigation is required to analyze the distribution of the apyrene sperm tangles within the spermatheca whose function could signify a blocking mechanism against rival sperm.
Identifier: 9780496219919 (isbn), 13100 (digitool), FADT13100 (IID), fau:9964 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2003.
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Subject(s): Arctiidae
Moths--Spermatozoa
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13100
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.